"add more soil, pound, add, pound, add"

All the "pounding" has me wondering.. Do you mean tamping down the soil a lot to sorta squish as much in there as you can? If so, don't do that. The roots need some breathing room in the potting mix. Tamp gently, don't pound. :-)

You may be disturbing the plant too much. When I repot, I look over the plant, take off the spent bloomstalks, decide which leaves I'm going to remove, sometimes I don't remove any, but thats rare. Remove any suckers. I take the plant out of the pot and cut off maybe 1/4 or more of the root ball off the bottom....if I have a neck at the top, I may cut off more to sink the plant deeper in the pot. I scrape the neck if there is old brown scaleing. I too put a little perlite in the bottom of my pots. Perlite, little soil, the plant, then add more soil around the plant (if the pot is bigger) or just on top (if the same size pot is used). I tamp the soil in lightly around the plant.

I don't quite understand about the neck question. If it has roots, its part of the root system and not a really a "neck" anymore. You would cut the neck - when the distance between the soil and the first set of leaves is so long that you cannot sink it into the pot enough to cover it with soil when repotting. Or if the top of the plant is dying because the neck is really long...I seen two at a library once that had a neck at least 2 ft long, it was curling where the plant was being turned, but it had never been repotted.

hope this helped. tish

Hi,
When I repot my minis and semis I usually cut off some of the root ball on the bottom and set it lower into the new solo cup. If the plant has a neck I will scrape off the calouses and make sure the neck is covered with fresh mix so it can develop new roots. I don't use any perlite in the bottom of my pots, I wick water and my mix is light enough so it drains well. I also do not pack the mix in tightly but just tap the pot on the table to settle the plant in its place.
Fred in NJ

Yep, that's what I've been doing- pounding. Point taken. I won't do that any more. Think I started pounding so I could put more soil in because when I would water from the top (perhaps a wick would go dry)oops! or when I would flush, the soil would noticeably drop down from the neck. I'll tamp lightly now and just top dress when needed.
Um, I'm not sure about the neck question either. It's only logical you'd cut it down if it didn't fit below the pot. Can't remember where I was going with that? Other than I've never taken a knife and sliced the root ball.
I did re pot last night, and used all your suggestions. Took pots right out of reservoirs didn't let them sit out to dry for a day, so working with the soil was more moist. I didn't rake my fingers through the roots to get old soil off. I let what just fell away fall and with a knife I sliced about a fourth off the bottom, put plant in pot with soil, added soil and tamped lightly. I'm sure this was much less stressful on the roots. Thanks guys.

Sounds like you did fine.

Its okay, my wicks go dry now and then too...I top water also when that happens.

When I have time to repot, I do. The plant may be wet, dry, or what.

The only time I get alot of the soil out of the roots is when I have bought a store one that is growing in that peat. I clean as much peat off the roots as I can and repot it in my soil mix. I often find there are hardly any roots in that peat, they often have been watered too much already and roots have died or they were potted into a too large pot. So I usually need to pot them it into a smaller sized pot.

tish

No matter what I am repotting, I usually do not bother the root ball much. I take it from the old pot, maybe give it a gentle shake, and then leave it alone. I never take off roots unless they are dead or I am de-necking a plant that has gone to far and too long without repotting. The roots will find their way to the new soil just fine once it is repotted, and this is especially true of AV's with their shallow root systems.

As for the actual potting, I don't usually use perlite in the bottom unless the root ball is extremely small. I add soil to the pot, place the plant in, gently fill up the sides, tap it against the counter once to settle, water, and that is it.

I think maybe you are doing too much, shaking the plant up a bit more than is necessary. I have plants bloom often after repotting - not all the time, but it is common. Your's may be recovering from a little shock after all that motion!

Hello minimac

I have posted frantic re potting questions on this forum too. Keep on working with your plants and reading this forum and you will find what works for you and your plants. In a couple of months you will be here answering other peoples questions.

Have fun.

Thom